


Communication

by Musical_Fandom



Category: Persona 5
Genre: 2/2, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Past Character Death, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:36:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29520969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musical_Fandom/pseuds/Musical_Fandom
Summary: Akira and Akechi discuss Maruki's deal on 2/2.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	Communication

“He’s manipulating you.” Was the first thing Akechi said. Not even five seconds after Maruki had left and they were already starting _this_. “If that bastard thinks that using my life as bait-”

“Were you ever going to tell me?” Akira asked bitterly. He turned the full force of his gaze on Akechi. Sure, his glare couldn’t send shivers down someone’s spine like Akechi’s could on a particularly bad day but the raw emotion more than made up for it. If there was anything Akechi was scared of, it was feelings. “That you’ve been dead this whole time I mean.”

“I didn’t think it was important.” He answered simply. He crossed his arms and met Akira head on.

“Bullshit.” Akira took a quick step forward but Akechi stood his ground. “I asked. I _asked you_ how you survived and you _lied._ ”

“Are you really surprised that I lied to you Kurusu?” An amused smirk made its way to Akechi’s face. It only lasted for a moment before it was quickly replaced with something much darker. “Grow up.”

“This isn’t a fucking game Akechi!” Akira yelled. He didn’t care who heard him. The entire world could listen in for all he cared. “Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“Like I said, I-”

“Why can’t you just tell me the truth?!” Akira grabbed Akechi’s shirt. “For once, just tell me what’s going on!”

Akechi didn’t answer for a moment. He just looked at Akira as his shirt was still balled up in his hand. A tense silence settled between them as Akira waited for an answer. Then, a small sigh came from Akechi. Akira let go of him as he spoke. “I didn’t want my _life_ to be used as a bargaining chip.” Akechi finally broke eye contact as his gaze shifted to the floor.

“So you really weren’t going to tell me.” Akira crossed his arms again. “You were just going to let me think that we’d meet each other again once this was all over.”

“If you knew-”

“I would have had time to process Akechi!” Akira started to pace through the small cafe. “I could have had time to come to terms with it instead of having to deal with everything right now!”

“I was worried you’d change your mind as soon as you found out.”

“When have you ever been able to predict what I would do?”

Akechi’s gaze stayed on the floor. “It was… a mistake. I’ll admit.”

“But you would do it again.” Akechi didn’t answer which was more than enough confirmation. Akira stopped his pacing and glanced at Akechi. “I’m taking the deal.”

Akechi instantly stepped forward. He glared at Akira who didn’t even flinch. “No you’re not.” His voice was dangerously low.

“Why not?” Akira began to walk towards Akechi. “Give me one good reason why I should let you kill youself.”

“You don’t get the right to decide what happens to my life.”

“You’re dead. In case you forgot, you don’t _have_ a life.” Akira couldn’t stop the bitterness he felt from seeping into his words. Maybe he didn’t even try. Part of him just wanted Akechi to hurt as messed up as he knew it was.

“So you’d let some sub par guidance counselor with a god complex manipulate you into giving up the entire world?” There was anger and bewilderment in his voice. Mostly anger but still.

“I’d say letting me think we had a future together is pretty manipulative, wouldn’t you?” Akira gave a weak smile. Akechi’s glare did not soften.

“I can’t believe you’d be so selfish.” The sheer force of disapproval in Akechi’s gaze was almost tangible. “I thought you were better than that Kurusu.”

“Is it selfish to make everyone in the world happy?”

“What Maruki is doing is wrong! Why can’t you see that?!” Akechi jabbed at Akira’s chest. “Are you really so fucking blind that you don’t understand robbing people of their agency is wrong?”

“Of course I understand that. I shot a god in the head because of that! I just... I'm tired. Why am I the one who has to make all these choices?” Akira looked away. He glared at the floor. “Why can’t anyone else ever be important to the fate of the world?”

“Because life is a fucking nightmare Kurusu.” There was something almost soft in his voice but Akira had no idea what his expression was. He refused to look at him.

“But it doesn’t have to be.”

“You know that no one can be trusted with the power Maruki has.”

“No, I know _you_ can’t be trusted. _Maruki_ actually has good intentions.”

“And how long until those good intentions become twisted? How long is it until Maruki decides he’s done being a benevolent god over humanity?”

“Would it matter? We wouldn’t exactly know at that point.” Akira didn’t need to look to feel Akechi’s disapproval. He sighed. “But it’s the principle of it.”

“Look at what he did to Sumire and how he justified it.”

Akira shook his head. “I should have brought you back when _I_ had control of Mementos. Maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“I doubt it would have worked when you were sharing control with the others. At the very least, Okumura and Sakura never would have allowed it.”

Akira looked at Akechi and smiled. “You’d be surprised.” His smile quickly fell once he met Akechi’s eyes. He looked _alive_. “I don’t want to lose you again.”

“Then I highly doubt a puppet with my face will please you Kurusu.” Out of the corner of his eye, Akira saw Akechi’s hands move to his side. The same place he'd been shot by his cognitive double. “Maruki would never let me just exist. He would keep chipping away at me until there’s nothing left.”

“But you don’t know that for sure.”

“He wants to remove all the pain from our lives Akira. What would be left at that point?”

Akira knew he was right. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he had a point. Without _her_ pain, Futaba could go out freely. Without _his_ , Ryuji could still be happy on the track team. But what about Akechi? Would there even be anything left of the person he loved? His personality, his sense of justice, his ambition, it would all be gone or, at the very least, unmistakably altered.

“I don’t think I could ever be satisfied with a watered down version of you either.” Akechi continued. “No matter how much Maruki brainwashed us into thinking we were happy.”

Akira grabbed Akechi’s hands. He could feel tears forming in his eyes which he tried to blink away. “I love you.”

“Then don’t let me become a prisoner here.”

Akira let out a hollow laugh, “No I love you too?”

Akechi hesitated for a second before he leaned in closer. “I love you too.” Akira tried to close the gap between them but Akechi pulled away. “Say you’ll fight Maruki.”

Akira held Akechi’s hands tighter as if he would disappear that very moment.

“Akira. I need to hear you say it.”

“We’ll fight him.” He watched Akechi nod in approval. “And we’ll win.”

A quiet settled over the cafe. Akira slowly let go of Akechi’s hands. It was Akechi who ended up breaking the silence, “...I should go.”

Akira watched Akechi leave. He wanted to reach out and stop him but stopped himself. He went upstairs to get some rest. They had an important task tomorrow and Akira couldn’t afford any distractions.

* * *

Akira sat on the train with Morgana. His cat-not-cat sat in the bag like the well trained animal he wasn’t. He felt… lonely. All his friends had said goodbye, he even got to see Sumire and Maruki one last time before his departure but there was one person missing. Akira fiddled with the leather glove that sat in his pocket. The one person he was still waiting for.

“Hey, is everything okay?” Akira looked down at the talking cat and smiled.

“Yeah.” He lied. “I was just thinking about how much I'm going to miss everyone.”

Morgana nearly jumped out of the bag to comfort Akira before he remembered where he was. “We’ll see them all again!”

Akira looked out the window and sighed. “Yeah… I hope so.”

**Author's Note:**

> :D


End file.
